Overview
The Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA) is the primary environment protection and pollution control legislation in Tasmania. It is a performance-based style of legislation, with the fundamental basis being the prevention, reduction and remediation of environmental harm. The clear focus of the Act is on preventing environmental harm from pollution and waste.
EMPCA is part of the Resource Management and Planning System of Tasmania (RMPS). All legislation comprising the RMPS have the same umbrella objectives in Part 1 of Schedule 1. Part 2 of Schedule 1 of EMPCA sets out a more focussed set of objectives for the Environmental Management and Pollution Control System (EMPCS).
Legislation Online
EMPCA is available on line at Tasmania’s The Law website.
Guidance Documents
Compliance and enforcement policies guide the work to achieve the requirements of the Act.
Regulations
Regulations made under EMPCA include:
Environment Protection Policies
EPPs are designed specifically to give effect to the objectives of EMPCA. EPPs define clear environmental objectives with programs to achieve them. They are designed to be outcome-oriented as opposed to regulations which simply set prescriptive rules.
The following EPPs have been made:
Note that there are also State Policies made under the State Policies and Projects Act 1993 that also relate to environmental matters:
Background
EMPCA was developed in the early 1990s to replace the Environment Protection Act 1973. The old Environment Protection Act and the associated regulations, relied heavily on the "command and control" philosophy common to legislation of that era. EMPCA is based on the concept of performance-based legislation, and includes a range of tools to achieve its objectives.
Since 1994, EMPCA has undergone two major reviews; a statutory review as required by Section 108, the other as required by the Tasmanian Legislation Review Program. Both reviews have resulted in significant amendment, principally to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Act, or to more clearly deliver the intent of the legislation.
For the LRP, a Preferred Options Paper was released in August 2004 as the basis for public consultation, followed by a Summary of Submissions.
For the 10-year Statutory Review, an Issues and Options Paper was released in December 2004, followed by a Summary of Submissions in May 2005.
A Final Report consolidated the findings of both the LRP Review and the Statutory Review, and was tabled in Parliament on 18 October 2005.